Red Bulls Academy Update: April 26

U18s: The Red Bulls U18s moved to the top of the US Development Academy League Liberty Division with a 4-1 win over local rival U18 PDA on Thursday, April 22. David Najem (Clifton, NJ) put the Red Bulls into the lead in the 19th minute. Oscar Gonzalez (Clifton, NJ) received a throw in and played a ball to Victor Manosalvas (Clifton, NJ) at the top of the box. Manosalvas neatly slipped Najem in behind the PDA defense, allowing him to slot the ball past PDA goalkeeper Travis Ives. The second half started very well for the Red Bulls as they took a 2-0 lead in the 48th minute. Goalkeeper Keith Cardona (Glen Rock, N) started a quick attack by releasing Paul Ehrenworth (Cranbury, NJ) on the left flank. Ehrenworth played a great ball to Gonzalez over the top and Gonzalez beat the goalkeeper at the top of the box and then finished neatly.

PDA pulled one back in the 51st minute before Kemal Gurel (Staten Island, NY) sealed the victory for the Red Bulls by scoring in the 72nd minute off a feed from Manosalvas and then again in the 81st minute on a pass from Najem.

“Tonight was a big win for us over a local rival. We still have some work to do as we look to clinch a spot in the play-offs,” stated U18 Head Coach Paul O’Donnell.

After falling behind the previously unbeaten U18 Baltimore Bays Chelsea, 1-0, midway through the first half on Sunday, April 25, the U18s put together a comeback with a dominant second half performance in US Development Academy League action.

“At half-time we stressed the importance of competing and winning the individual battles so we could get a grip of the game and play our brand of quality, attacking soccer,” stated Under 18 Head Coach Paul O'Donnell. “We are very pleased with the effort. The second half performance showed a lot of character and we are most pleased with the fact that we established control and played our style quite effectively.”

The Red Bulls tied the game in the 53rd minute when Jon Gonzalez (Bloomfield, NJ) played the ball back to Manosalvas at the top of the box. Manosalvas took one touch and then placed a perfect shot into the lower right corner. The Red Bulls continued to dominate play and came close on several occasions to taking the lead. In the 76th minute substitute Mike Innocenzi (Franklin Lakes, NJ) raced down the right flank and whipped an early cross into the box that CJ Lyle (Stamford, CT) banged home for the lead and his team-leading seventh goal of the season.

U16s: On Wednesday, April 21, the Red Bull U16s defeated U16 PDA, 1-0, in a tightly contested US Development Academy League game. Both teams had chances to win the game, but Oscar Castillo (Brooklyn, NY) scored the Red Bulls game-winning goal with five minutes to play. Max Brown (New York, NY) went the distance in goal for his third straight shutout.

On Sunday, April 25, the U16s lost a physical battle to U16 Baltimore Bays, 1-0. In a pretty even US Development Academy League game, Baltimore was able to convert one of the few chances of the game to secure the win. The Red Bulls had several chances but were unable to break through.